A Tunisian soldier talks with a woman during the sanitary service clean out in the Kasbah district after Tunisian inhabitants of Sidi Bouzid and protesters were evacuated following clashes with security forces in front of the government palace on Saturday, Jan. 29 in Tunis. Riot police and hundreds of protesters clashed in the Tunisian capital on January 28, 2011, as a new cabinet was sworn into office in a bid to end the unrest that has followed president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ouster. Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas, as some groups threw stones in the main government quarter where protesters have remained camped out in front of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi's offices for five days.
(Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images)
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Tunisian riot police use their shields for cover during clashes with demonstrators after they stormed a protest camp outside the prime minister's office in Tunis on Jan. 28.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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A man reads a newspaper with a story about the new ministers that have been put in the Tunisian government, at a street kiosk in downtown Tunis on Jan. 28. The Tunisian government ditched loyalists to its ousted president on Thursday -- a move which won backing from the powerful labor union and could help defuse protests.
(Louafi Larbi / Reuters)
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Tunisian students are blocked by security forces as they demonstrate in front of the Justice ministry in Tunis on January 27. Thousands took to the streets of Tunisia to call for old regime politicians to be ousted after the fall of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the cabinet prepared a reshuffle.
(Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images)
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Tunisian protesters pull away barbed wire to let through the protesters on the other side of the police barricade near government offices in the Kasbah, the old city of Tunis, Jan. 27. Police blocked several roads leading up to the Kasbah in the Tunisian capital Tunis on Jan. 27 after a day of violent clashes on Jan. 26 between demonstrators and security forces who fired tear gas and left several people injured.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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Protesters help municipality workers clear up piles of rubbish on the streets left behind by fellow protesters who spent the night outside the prime minister's office in the Kasbah, the old city of Tunis Jan. 27.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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Policemen try to calm down a pro-government protester as he shouts towards anti-government protesters during a demonstration in central Tunis on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Hundreds of Tunisians rallied on Tuesday in support of the interim government formed after the ousting of president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, but later clashed with protesters demanding a purge of former regime loyalists.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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A man cuts himself with scissors as he protests outside the once feared Tunisian Interior Ministry. The man was placated by citizens and suffered no serious injuries on Jan. 25, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
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A boy hangs from the door as he shouts slogans during an anti-government demonstration in central Tunis on Jan. 25.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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Inhabitants of the central Tunisia region of Sidi Bouzid chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the Government palace in Tunis on Jan. 23. The protesters came from a poverty-stricken rural region where the crackdown against protesters in the final days of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's 23-year regime was at its harshest.
(Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images)
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Protesters who marched from the rural areas of Tunisia as part as the 'Liberation Caravan' take a rest outside the prime minister's office on Jan. 23, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
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Tunisians light candles during a nighttime vigil in downtown Tunis, Jan. 22. Protesters in Tunisia, emboldened by their overthrow of the president a week ago, took to the streets Saturday to try and force out his lieutenants, whom they accuse of clinging to power in the face of popular anger.
(Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters)
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Tunisian soldiers stand guard near the Prime Minister's office during a demonstration in Tunis, Jan. 22. Tunisia's interim prime minister promised to quit politics after the elections, a pledge intended to appease protesters demanding remnants of the old guard leave a unity coalition formed after the overthrow of the president.
(Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters)
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Police officers celebrate as they demonstrate in Tunis, Saturday, Jan. 22. Tunisia's once-feared police who carried out the repressive policies of their now exiled president are joining hands with protesters who brought down the dictator.
(Christophe Ena / AP)
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A protester gestures in front of the headquarters of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party of ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali during a demonstration in downtown Tunis on Jan. 20, 2011.
(Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters)
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People demonstrate on Jan. 20 in Tunis against the former president's Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) in a new wave of anger about the presence of RCD stalwarts in the transitional government.
(Martin Bureau / AFP - Getty Images)
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Protesters kiss and embrace soldiers during a demonstration in Tunis on Jan. 20. Some observers have said that the army's restraint has helped to keep protests from escalating.
(Martin Bureau / AFP - Getty Images)
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Interim President Fouad Mebazaa (fifth from right) and Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi (bottom left) attend the first session of the newly appointed transitional cabinet on Jan. 20 at the government palace in Tunis.
(Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images)
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A soldier pushes back a protester as he shows that he is unarmed during a demonstration in front of the headquarters of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party on Jan. 20. Police fired shots into the air to try to disperse hundreds of protesters demanding that ministers associated with the ousted president leave the government.
(Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters)
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Family of Mohamed Bouazizi pray and mourn at his grave in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid on Wednesday, Jan. 19. Bouazizi, a vegetable salesman, set himself on fire on Dec. 17, igniting protests that forced ex-president Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali to flee the country.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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A man looks at inscriptions written on the walls in the scorched and looted home belonging to the nephew of ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Hammamet, southeast of Tunis on Jan. 19.
(Martin Bureau / AFP - Getty Images)
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Protesters carry a coffin symbolizing the death of the Constitutional Democratic Rally party of ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali during a demonstration in downtown Tunis on Jan. 19. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in the Tunisian capital on Wednesday to demand the dismissal from the new coalition government of ministers associated with ousted president Ben Ali.
(Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters)
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A woman reacts during a demonstration against the Constitutional Democratic Rally party of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in central Tunis on Jan. 19.
(Thibault Camus / AP)
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A protestor throws back tear gas at the police during clashes after a demonstration against the Constitutional Democratic Rally, RCD, party of Ben Ali in the center of Tunis on Tuesday, Jan. 18. Four ministers quit Tunisia's day-old government on Tuesday, undermining its hopes of quelling unrest by sharing power with members of the opposition to the old regime. Clashes broke out in central Tunis around the time the resignations were announced, as police fought off protesters demanding that the new cabinet be purged of the old guard that served Ben Ali.
(Christophe Ena / AP)
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Protestors hold bread as they face riot police officers during a demonstration against the Constitutional Democratic Rally, RCD, party of Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, on Jan. 18. 2011. Four ministers quit Tunisia's day-old government on Tuesday, undermining its hopes of quelling unrest by sharing power with members of the opposition to the old regime. Clashes broke out in central Tunis around the time the resignations were announced, as police fought off protesters demanding that the new cabinet be purged of the old guard that served Ben Ali.
(Christophe Ena / AP)
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A man lies injuried during a demonstration in Tunis on Jan.18. Riot police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters on January 18 at a small protest rally against Tunisia's new government in the centre of the capital, AFP reporters on the ground saw. Around 100 protesters chanted slogans against the RCD party of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "We can live on bread and water alone but not with the RCD," they said. Riot police dispersed the rally -- one of several expected.
(Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images)
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Tunisian opposition figure Moncef Markouzi celebrates is he is welcomed by supporters, after arriving at the international airport of Tunis on Jan. 18, 2010. Tunisia's day-old government was shaken by the resignation of four ministers on Tuesday, undermining its hopes of quelling simmering unrest by sharing power with members of the opposition to the old regime.
(Thibault Camus / AP)
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A demonstrator reacts as security forces use water canons to disperse protesters downtown Tunis on Monday, Jan. 17. Police disperesed crowds after demonstrators took to the streets demanding that the ruling party of the ousted president give up power.
(Reuters)
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People demonstrate in central Tunis on Jan. 17. Tunisian protesters called for the abolition of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ruling party amid a chaotic power vacuum as politicians prepared a government of national unity. Hundreds of people rallied in Tunis and there were similar protests in Sidi Bouzid and Regueb in central Tunisia - two towns at the heart of the movement that forced Ben Ali to resign and flee on Friday after 23 years in power.
(Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images)
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A demonstrator argues with a policeman during a protest in central Tunis on Jan. 17. Hundreds rallied in central Tunis on Monday to demand the abolition of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ruling party. Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi was a close ally of Ben Ali and held talks with opposition parties on Sunday to form a national unity government.
(Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images)
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Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, left, speaks with Tunisian interim President Foued Mbazaa upon his arrival at the Prime Ministry at the Casbah, in Tunis, Tunisia, on Jan 17. The army continued to patrol the streets as the country awaited the formation of a new national unity government. Tanks were still being deployed on the main avenue in Tunis and army helicopters flew over the city as the administration of interim President Foued Mabazaa sought to stamp out the lawlessness that took hold after longtime leader Zine el-Abidine ben Ali abruptly left power on Jan. 14.
(EPA)
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Protestors greet soldiers during a demonstration against former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the center of Tunis on Jan. 17. Helicopters circled overhead as police used tear gas to break up a demonstration on the main avenue in central Tunis.
(Christophe Ena / AP)
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People view the ransacked home of Kaif Ben Ali, nephew of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, in the Mediterranean resort of Hammamet, about 40 milesfrom the capital on Sunday, Jan. 16. Several hundred people filed through the home of Kaif Ben Ali, taking photographs, picking up plants as souvenirs and stripping out plumbing fixtures, two days after the president was ousted. The home was also set ablaze, according to witnesses.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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A woman tries to convince army soldiers to allow her to cross a street in Tunis on Saturday, Jan. 15. Hundreds of soldiers patrolled the streets of the Tunisian capital on Saturday where the prime minister was met opposition parties in an attempt to form a coalition after protests swept the president from power.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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A protester hits a policeman during clashes with riot police in downtown Tunis on Friday, Jan. 14. Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali stepped aside on Friday after failing to quell the worst anti-government unrest in his two decades in power.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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Protesters carry an unconscious woman during clashes with riot police in the downtown of the capital Tunis on Jan. 14.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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Women run during clashes with riot police in downtown Tunis, Jan. 14. Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali declared a state of emergency on Friday and warned that protesters would be shot in an increasingly frantic effort to quell the worst unrest in his two decades in power.
(Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)
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Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, center, addresses the nation on state television Friday. He said that he had taken over as interim president after Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had left the country.
(Channel 7 / AFP - Getty Images)
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Plain clothed police and riot police officers clash with demonstrators in Tunis. Tunisia's president left the country as gunfire echoed in the North African country's usually calm capital.
(Christophe Ena / AP)
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Demonstrators gather in front of the interior ministry in Tunis on Friday demanding President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali resign. Thousands of angry demonstrators marched through Tunisia's capital a day after the country's autocratic leader appeared on TV to try to stop deadly riots that have swept the North African nation.
(Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images)
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People wait in front of the departure gate at the airport in Tunis on Friday. The army took control of the main international Tunis Carthage airport on January 14 and the country's airspace was shut down, an airport source told AFP, as weeks of unrest escalated.
(Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images)
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President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali addresses the nation on Thursday. Ben Ali, facing a wave of violent unrest, said he would not change the constitution to allow him to run again when his term expires in 2014.
(Handout via Reuters)
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A demonstrator injured in clashes with security forces on
Sunday in Regueb, near Sidi Bouzid. Protests sparked by high youth unemployment spread from the central town of Sidi Bouzid to other parts of the country.
(EPA)
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A child holds a sign asking for the release of people kept in custody by police following recent protests, during a demonstration in Tunis on Jan. 8.
(Hassene Dridi / AP)
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Lawyer Abderrahman Ayedi takes off his shirt during a meeting in Tunis on Dec. 29 to show to human rights activist and lawyer Radhia, second from right, marks on his body. He said that he had been subjected to torture the previos day after he was arrested by police.
(Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images)
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President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, second from left, meets patient Mohamed Bouazizi during a visit at the Ben Arous hospital near Tunis on Dec. 28. Bouazizi, a 26-year-old university graduate, had set himself on fire in a protest over unemployment, sparking a wave of unrest and clashes.
(Handout via AFP - Getty Images)
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Editor's note:
This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.

TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia's new government said Wednesday it has freed all the country's political prisoners and also moved to track down assets stashed overseas by its deposed president and his widely disliked family.

Tensions on the streets appeared to be calming as the administration tried to show it was distancing itself from the old guard.

Hundreds of protesters led a rally in central Tunis demanding that former allies of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stop clinging to power. Later, about 30 youths in the capital broke a curfew and set up camp near the heavily guarded Interior Ministry, bringing mats, food and water for an overnight sit-in. Police didn't bother them.

In recent days, police had fired tear gas and clubbed protesters.

The U.N. said more than 100 people have died in the unrest that surrounded Ben Ali's ouster.

He fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after 23 years in power, and a caretaker government is now struggling to calm this moderate Muslim nation on the Mediterranean Sea, popular among European tourists and seen as an ally in the West's fight against terrorism.

Some 33 members of Ben Ali's family have so far been taken into custody while trying to leave the country, as was the Senate president, national TV said.

Ben Ali's longtime prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, kept his post and is trying to convince Tunisians a new era has arrived — even if the composition of the interim government has many faces from the old guard.

Interim President Fouad Mebazaa went on television and promised to live up to the people's revolt, which he called a "revolution."

"Regarding security, you have certainly noticed that it has improved," he said. "We have discovered the leaders of the chaos, and have stopped the gangs and those who put fear in the hearts of people. The situation is moving toward stability."

Hafed al Maki, 50, who works at the country's largest insurance company, said he would not wait for the 60-day constitutional limit for new presidential elections to pass "because that is enough time for the old cronies to set their roots in and start their old ways again, thieving and taking our resources. No way that's happening again."

Opposition figures and the prime minister's office have said that the 60-day limit is unrealistically short, and the delay will more likely be six to seven months.

Swiss officials estimate Tunisian government officials have put about $620 million into Swiss banks, and the anti-corruption group Transparency International France and two other associations filed suit in Paris alleging corruption by Ben Ali and his wife.

A French government minister said the Tunisian central bank director, Taoufik Baccar, has resigned following widespread rumors that the deposed president's wife fled the country with a stash of gold. The central bank has denied an unsourced report in the French newspaper Le Monde that said Leila Trabelsi was believed to have taken 1.5 tons of gold out of the country, possibly bringing it to Switzerland.

But "rumors about that exist, and for that the president of the Central Bank of Tunisia has resigned," Nejib Chebbi, a longtime opponent who took a post in the unity government, told BBC World News.

Chebbi said an investigation would take place.

Tunisia's official TAP news agency also reported that the Central Bank had taken control of Banque Zitouna, a bank founded by a son-in-law of Ben Ali, to protect the deposits of accountholders and prevent a run on the bank.

The national prosecutor's office moved to investigate overseas bank accounts, real estate and other assets held by Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi and other relatives. His relations — especially his wife's family — were seen as corrupt and dominated many businesses in the nation.

The Swiss president said that her country's federal council agreed to freeze any assets in Switzerland belonging to Ben Ali, to help work up a possible criminal case over alleged stolen funds.

In Geneva, the United Nations' human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said she was sending an "assessment team" to Tunisia in coming days, and estimated more than 100 deaths have occurred so far during the unrest in Tunisia.

Tunis' stock exchange, many shops, schools and universities remained closed and some workers have gone on strike. A curfew remains in place, thought the government shortened it as security improved.

Mustapha Ben Jafar, one of several new ministers who dropped out of the unity government Tuesday out of concern about the old guard's strong presence, met Wednesday with the prime minister to discuss conditions for a possible return.

He told The AP that the prime minister assured him all political prisoners have now been released, along with Islamists convicted under the country's draconian 2003 anti-terror laws — which were widely criticized by rights groups for being too sweeping and imprecise. It was unclear exactly how many such prisoners were freed.

In another effort to ease tensions, the government released 1,800 nonpolitical prisoners who had less than six months to serve, the official news agency reported.

Senate President Abdallah Kallel, a strong Ben Ali ally and a one-time powerful interior and defense minister, was taken into custody along with his wife as they tried to fly to Paris Wednesday, Tunisian national TV said. Security officials said without elaborating that the couple was barred from departing pending investigations.

Tunisia's unrest has rattled the economy, which had seen impressive growth in recent years. Moody's Investor Service downgraded Tunisia's government bond ratings Wednesday, citing "significant uncertainties" surrounding Tunisia's economic and political future.

Moody's cut the rating by one notch, to "Baa3" from "Baa2," and also downgraded its outlook to negative from stable. The new rating is one notch above "junk bond" status.

___

Bouazza Ben Bouazza in Tunis, Maggie Michael in Cairo, and Greg Keller in Paris contributed to this report.

Video: Baby Doc still in Haiti; Tunisia's president warned not to return

Closed captioning of: Baby Doc still in Haiti; Tunisia's president warned not to return

>>>news about the former dictator who came back this week after 25 years away in compile. jean-claude duvalier, known as "
baby doc
" still not clear why he came back. he's facing possible charges for embezzlement and brutality but his lawyer said while he is free to leave the country, he plans to stay there indefinitely.